Babylonian and Assyrian Literature Part 12

A look, a glance; when mingling souls speak love, Will in his breast undying longings move; And let us hope that when the youths have lain[7]

Their all before the herald, that no men Who see their sacrifice will rob their hearts Of all that gives them joy or bliss imparts; Or that this day alone will maidens see Who have not loved, and they will happy be With him who purchases her as his wife; Or proud young beauties will enjoy the strife Of bidders to secure their lovely charms, And love may bring their husbands to their arms.

The day is sacred, dedicated old To Love and Strength, when loving arms shall fold A vigorous husband to a maiden's breast, Where she may ever stay and safely rest.

The day of Ishtar, Queen of Love! the day Of Nergal, the strong G.o.d, to whom they pray For strength to bless with vigor Accad's sons.

For many anxious years this day atones.

[8]This day their Sar the flesh of birds eats not, Nor food profaned by fire this day, nor aught Of labor may perform nor _zubat_[9] change, Nor snowy _ku-bar-ra_[10] anew arrange.

A sacrifice he offers not, nor rides Upon his chariot this day, nor guides His realm's affairs, and his Tur-tan-nu rests.

Of soldiers, and of orders, he divests His mind; and even though disease may fall Upon him, remedies he may not call.

The temple he shall enter in the night, And pray that Ishtar's favor may delight His heart; and lift his voice in holy prayer, In Nergal's temple rest from every care, Where he before the holy altar bends With lifted hands, his soul's pet.i.tion sends.

Around the square the palms and cedars shine, And bowers of roses cl.u.s.ter round divine.

Beneath an arch of myrtles, climbing vines, And canopy,--with wreathing flowers it shines, There stands a wondrous garland-wreathed throne, Where maids are gathered;--each unmarried one.

The timid maids and bold of Babylon Are each in turn led to the rosy throne; The crowd of bidders round the herald stand, The richest and the poorest of the land.

The queen of Accad's maids doth now appear, We see the burnished chariot coming near, Ten beauteous bays with proud steps, nodding plumes Come first; behind, a train of n.o.bles comes; And now we see the close-drawn canopy Thrown back by slaves, who step aside, that she The queen of beauty crowned with lilies, rose, May here alight. And see! she queenly goes With dainty steps between the n.o.blemen, Who stand on either side the queen Of beauty of the plains, who first this day Shall reign upon the throne, and lead the way For all the maids who shall be bought for gold, And thus the first upon the throne is sold.

She takes her seat beneath the canopy, Upon the throne high raised, that all may see; As she her veil of fine spun gold flings back From her sweet face and o'er her ringlets black, Her large dark eyes, soft as a wild gazelle's, Upon the richest n.o.bles dart appeals.

Her bosom throbs 'neath gems and snowy lace, And robes of broidered satin, velvets, grace Her beauty with their pearly folds that fall Around her form.

Hark! hear the herald's call!

"Behold this pearl! my lords and n.o.blemen, And who will bid for her as wife, my men?"

"Ana-bilti khura.s.si ash at ka!"[11]

"Akhadu khura.s.si ana sa-sa!"[12]

"U sinu bilti khura.s.si!"[11] two cried.

"Sal-sutu bilti!"[12] n.o.bles three replied; And four, and five, and six, till one bid ten, A vast amount of gold for n.o.blemen:

But see! the bidders in excitement stand Around a youth who cries with lifted hand And features pale and stern, who now began To bid against a wealthy n.o.bleman, Whose countless herds graze far upon the plain, His laden ships that ride upon the main He counts by scores. He turns his evil eyes And wolfish face upon the youth and cries, "Khamisserit!"[13] The lover answering says: "Esra'a!"[14] "U selasa'a!"[15] then brays The gray-haired lover. "U irbaha!"[16] cries The youth, and still the n.o.bleman defies; Who answers cooly, "Khausa'a;"[17] and eyes The anxious youth, who wildly "Miha!"[18] cries.

"Mine! mine! she is! though you _alapu_[19] bid!"

"A fool thou art!" the n.o.ble, leaving, said.

"One hundred talents for a maid!" he sneered, And in the crowd he growling disappeared.

The measures filled with shining gold are brought, And thus the loveliest of all is bought.

The next in beauty on the throne is sold, And thus the beautiful are sold for gold.

The richest thus select the beautiful, The poor must take alone the dutiful And homely with a dower which beauty bought, And ugliness with gold becomes his lot.

The ugliest, unsightly, and deformed, Is now brought forth; with many wriggles squirmed She to the throne, where beauty late had sat: Her ugliness distorted thus; whereat The herald cries: "Who will this woman take With smallest dowry? She can cook and bake, And many household duties well perform, Although she does not claim a beauty's charm.

Who wants a wife?"

The ugly crone with blinks Doth hideous look, till every bidder shrinks.

A sorry spectacle, mis-shapen, gross, She is, and bidders now are at a loss How much to ask to take the hag to wife.

At last one cries: "Five _bilti,_[20] for relief Of herald I will take, to start the bid!"

"And four of _bilti_, I'll take, with the maid!"

"Three and a half!" one cries with shaking head, "And she is yours, my man!" the herald said, And thus she bought a husband and a home.

And so the scare-crows, scraggy ones, now come In turn; the lean, ill-favored, gawky, bald, Long-nosed, uncouth, raw-boned, and those with scald And freckled, frowsy, ricketty and squat, The stumpy, bandy-legged, gaunt, each bought A man; though ugly as a toad, they sold, For every man with her received his gold.

The heaped-up gold which beauteous maids had brought Is thus proportioned to the bidder's lot; The grisly, blear-eyed, every one is sold, And husbands purchased for a pile of gold, And happiness diffused throughout the land; For when the maid refused her husband's hand She might return by paying back the gold.

And every maid who thus for wife was sold Received a bond from him who purchased her, To wed her as his wife, or else incur The forfeit of his bond, and thus no maids In all the land were found as grumbling jades, Whose fate it was to have no husbandman, For every woman had a husband then.

[Footnote 1: We have included in Tablet IV Tablets V and VI of the original, as cla.s.sified by Mr. Sayce.]

[Footnote 2: The above is taken from an a.s.syrian fragment ("W.A.I.," ii.

35, No. 4) translated in "Records of the Past," vol. xi., pp. 159, 160, and presents the a.s.syrian view of purity and the customs of their people.]

[Footnote 3: Literally, "whose veil no freeman of pure race has raised."

Before slaves and men of mean rank, women of the East are not obliged to veil the face.]

[Footnote 4: Literally, "who has never moistened her teeth with an intoxicating liquor." "Rec. of the Past," p. 160, l. 6.]

[Footnote 5: The public sale herein described is taken from the statement of Herodotus (see Herodotus, vol. i., p. 196. Compare "Nic. Dam. Fr.,"

131, and aelian. "Var. Hist.," iv. 1), who says all the marriageable virgins in all the towns of the empire or kingdom were sold at public auction. The beautiful maidens were sold to the highest bidder, and the proceeds were deposited before the herald. The ugly maidens in turn were then put up, and the bidders were called upon to take them as wives with the smallest dowry to be paid from the proceeds of the sales of the beautiful maids, and they were in turn awarded to those who would accept them with the smallest amount as dowry. The numerous contracts for the sales of women now in the British Museum may possibly be records of these transactions.]

[Footnote 6: "Sab-at-tu," a day of rest for the heart ("W.A.I.," ii. 32), the Sabbath day, which was dedicated to the worship of the sun, moon, and stars, and their G.o.ds, which were known by different names.]

[Footnote 7: "Lain," to lay, v.a. (pretr. "laid," part, pa.s.sive "lain,"

from "liggan," Sax.), "to place along the ground."--Fenning's Royal Eng.

Dic., London, MDCLXXV.]

[Footnote 8: From the Babylonian Festival Calendar ("C.I.W.A.," vol. iv., pls. 32, 33); also translated in "Records of the Past," vol. vii., pp.

162, 163.]

[Footnote 9: "Zubat," robes.]

[Footnote 10: "Ku-bar-ra," linen robes.]

[Footnote 11: "And two golden talents!"]

[Footnote 12: "Three talents!"]

[Footnote 13: "Fifteen!"]

[Footnote 14: "Twenty!"]

[Footnote 15: "And thirty!"]

[Footnote 16: "And forty!"]

[Footnote 17: "Fifty!"]

[Footnote 18: "One hundred!"]

[Footnote 19: "One thousand!"]

[Footnote 20: "Five bilti," about 3,165 sterling, or $15,825.]

COLUMN II

COUNCIL IN THE PALACE